GLIMMERS JUNE THROUGH OCTOBER 2011

June 1

The following address was given by a friend of mine who was an art professor at Doane University for many years. It is touching. It is to the point. As we leave Memorial Day for 2011 Joseph Parle can be a representative of common folk who gave their all without thought of the danger into which they were walking because giving of themselves to save others was deeply rooted in their natures. De

Permission

This is a beautiful and touching tribute, Richard. May I reprint it in my daily devotional Glimmers?
Derrel

"Oh, that would be cool. Thanks.

I was talking with one of the vets afterward, and he mentioned the fact that Ensign Parle's action was probably not what we imagine Congressional Medals of Honor are given for, as it was a kind of "obscure" thing that occurred outside the context of battle itself. Yet, given the ramifications of his act and what it meant, long term, for that invasion, it probably played a key role in the entire war effort! I thought of Jesus' words: "many are first who shall be last, and many who are last [obscure?] shall be first in the kingdom." It is also interesting to learn that his brother, a Joseph Parle, testified that he was inspired by his brother to enter the priesthood, and served for many years as a missionary in the Far East. So, he had quite an impact beyond just my wonderful memory."


Memorial Day Address
Crete, Nebraska, May 30, 2011
Richard Terrell

I am honored to be here with you today, and as one who has not served in the military offer to all veterans a message that is your just acknowledgement from all who, like myself, can only wonder at the unique brand of dedication, courage, and resolve displayed by military people. That message is very simple, and consists of two words. “Thank you.”

I would also like to share on this occasion a story of a man—a very young man, who my brother and I knew but for a few hours on a Sunday afternoon in 1943, when I was not yet 3 full years old and my brother was a few months short of 4. We both remember the occasion with a vividness that might attach to something that happened much more recently, but not only do we remember the occasion and the man, the memory has become a treasured part of both our lives.

The young man’s name was John Joseph Parle, born in Omaha on May 26, 1920. He was a nephew of an uncle of ours, the husband of my deceased father’s sister. He was an Ensign in the United States Navy, on leave from the war and visiting at my uncle and aunt’s home on that day in Forest Park, Illinois. At one point in the afternoon John decided he would like to take Bill and me to a nearby park to spend some time outdoors. As we played in the park, John energized our time with wonderful cheer, urging us to run, ride the swings, running us up and down the slides and pushing us on the merry-go-round, all the time calling out to us “keep the kettle boiling!” Bill and I laughed and laughed. We didn’t know what “keep the kettle boiling” meant—it was probably some kind of ship language—but it was mysterious and wonderful and we loved it.

We never saw John after that day, but as our young lives unfolded we would ask about him. Who was he? Where was he? We were sad to know that he had subsequently died in the war. But we were keen to know his story, and wondered at the brand of courage displayed in his service and death, which earned him, posthumously, the Congressional Medal of Honor and the naming of a ship after him. It is strange and wonderful that a person known for only a few hours at such young ages could continue to mean so much. But when I think of John Parle, I personalize what I know of him as someone who died so that my brother and I could grow up in a decent world and in a country that properly recognized and honored people of courage and faith.

Here is his story, as written in the citation for John Parle posted on the internet:
Ensign John Joseph Parle, of Nebraska, was serving on the USS LST 375.
On July 9, 1943, USS LST 375 was operating in the Mediterranean as part of the Western Task Force for the invasion of Sicily. The Task Force was assigned to land three Army divisions on the southeast corner of the island at Licata. The Task Force approached the coast of Sicily during the evening of July 9, 1943. Soon after midnight, on the morning of July 10, most of the invasion force was in position to mount the assault. As H-Hour approached, the Axis forces still had no idea that the Allied armada was off shore. Any slip could have revealed the presence of the Allied force and endangered the landings.

At that moment, Ensign Parle discovered a smoke pot had accidentally ignited in a small boat loaded with high explosives, setting fire to a fuses and risking detonating ammunition. If those explosives were to detonate, it would have endangered his ship and revealed the presence of the Allied fleet to the enemy. Undaunted by fire and blinding smoke, Ensign Parle entered the craft and extinguished the fuses. After failing in his desperate efforts to extinguish the fire pot, he finally seized it with both hands and running topside threw it overboard.

He died at a naval hospital in Tunisia three days after the incident with the smoke pot, of pneumonia and the effects of the smoke and fumes he inhaled. Ensign Parle's heroic self-sacrifice prevented grave damage to his ship and its crew and insured the security of the invasion. He gallantly gave his life in the service of his country. For valour and courage above and beyond the call of duty Ensign Parle was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honour.
A destroyer escort, the USS Parle, was named in his honor and saw action in the Pacific theatre.

John’s name is engraved on the plagues at the Omaha War Memorial. In 1993, on an occasion when I was in Omaha, I stopped at the memorial to see his name, and in doing that I got a little of an inkling (although certainly not the same) of how Vietnam veterans must feel when they see a comrade’s name in the war memorial in Washington D.C. I looked at those letters, and wondered that I had known him.
On returning to Lincoln, I wrote a poem about him—really a poem to him, my all-too-brief friend; the hero that I knew in so narrow a window of time.

Fifty years ago (but yesterday)
You took Billy and me
To the park to play.
You, on sailor’s leave from war
Led us to the laughter
That we still hear.
On swing and slide
And merry-go-round
We kept “the kettle boiling.”
We, little boys, knew you but for a day
Before your hero’s death.
They named that USS boat for you,
And here you are on this plaque.
But you live, too, in Billy and me,
For the life you gave
To our child hearts
Fifty years ago
(but yesterday)


Thank you for letting me share his story. He was one of you.



June 2

How people treat their ministers may say something about how much they value the Lord and His word.
40 “Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. 41 Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. 42 And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.” (Matthew 10:40-42)
17 The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. 18 For Scripture says, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,” and “The worker deserves his wages.” (I Timothy 5:17-18)
7 Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat its grapes? Who tends a flock and does not drink the milk? 8 Do I say this merely on human authority? Doesn’t the Law say the same thing? 9 For it is written in the Law of Moses: “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.” Is it about oxen that God is concerned? 10 Surely he says this for us, doesn’t he? Yes, this was written for us, because whoever plows and threshes should be able to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest. 11 If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? 12 If others have this right of support from you, shouldn’t we have it all the more? (I Corinthian 9:7-12)
I have known many faithful ministers, including missionaries, who have been invited to speak, conduct weddings, perform special services for the dead and the living and who have had to bear their own expense to do these things. St. Paul was no exception and throughout the ages this sad pattern has continued in some circles.
Christians should well be wary of those who use the ministry to get rich. Unfortunately these are the ministers that are able to manipulate the masses. Christians should also be aware of those who serve and never complain. These are the ones who are unfortunately not valued for their faithfulness.
Christians who assume that they are worthy of their hire and treat their ministers penuriously need to evaluate if they live better than their ministers why they can do so without one whit of conscience. No minister should grow wealthier than his constituents but such a minister should live as well as the people he serves. There should be some effort at least to strike a median. All of them together should likewise receive their pay with thanksgiving and demonstrate a generous heart to the poor and the Lord’s work.
How much do you value the word of God and its servants?

June 3
Life and creativity requires we possess the wisdom to know when to stop a project or an action, pausing during it or resting after finishing. This is the Sabbath principle and needs to be reverenced more in contemporary society. We are not made to be in motion all of the time. We are spiritual beings. God has written the word “rest” into his creation and even given it as a commandment. Ignore it and gravity takes over at some time or another. You will crash. Your body needs rest, your mind needs rest and during rest one will be wise to consider his Creator and let Him speak in His still small voice.

June 4

Whenever humans make an observation or discover a fact it is a divine characteristic that we also look for patterns from which we can draw generalizations. That is so because we know creation makes sense and has been established with a plan in the mind of the Creator.
How we view everything is determined by the premises and maturity with which we start. It is good for us if we have companions who help us see more than we would normally. They may not be always right but they can raise our sights and stimulate us to exercise our powers of sensitivity to the Spirit of God.
In the cartoon “Peanuts” Lucy looks into the sky and asks Linus and Charlie Brown what forms they imagine in cloud formations. Lucy sees a noble image of a great bird rising into the sky. Linus said he saw the Seven Horses of the Apocalypse. Charlie Brown looks chagrined and says, “Good grief! I was going to say I saw a rubber duckie.”

June 5

The usual things we do become such habits for us that we often fail to realize their importance until the rhythm is broken. Then we are forced back to first things to rediscover the wonder of what we had learned, valued and forgotten.

June 6

It is easy to dull our senses and much of it comes from non use, not necessarily misuse. A promiscuous person may misuse their senses and never recover their sharpness. A moderate person becomes dull by non use. The good news for the moderate, however, is it that one can “return.” It takes discipline and focus but we can be healed. We need to observe practice stillness over the Word and learn. This is an art that Jesus seemed to encourage when he used works like “observe the lilies of the field’ or “listen” or “watch.”

June 7

Forgiveness is therapeutic for the one forgiven and the forgiver. When we do good to our offenders and forgive them we heap hot coals upon the heads of our offenders. It is purgation. It is like creating an altar for the burning of incense in God’s presence.

June 8

When we do not forgive we become prisoners of those who have offended us.

June 9

There are those who talk about grace and those who know it by experience and enjoy it. Do you enjoy God’s unmerited favor and blessings?

June 10

Quotes by G.K. Chesterton

Humility
“It is the small soul that is the exception; the large soul is only too proud to be the rule.”

***

Faith
“Unless that part of the mind is satisfied by a faith it will be satisfied by a fad; those who have destroyed a church have only created a sect.”

June 11

“We express love in the language by which we want to receive love.” Jeff Fawoliski, Pastor

June 12


When we are actively praying for and blessing others we have a prescription against cursing them.

June 13

Christian Ministry is For the Faithful Not for Glory

“Ministry under the best of circumstances is a donkey’s task.”

Not for Partisans

“Jesus was never enamored with overthrowing human authority. Jesus did not come to take sides with the republicans or democrats. He came to take over!”
Not for the Narcissistic
“Don’t be enamored with the ministry (of Christ). You must be called.”
Not for the Reclusive
“We can evangelize or we can fossilize. “
Quotes by Bill Ford, pastor of Parkway Church, Cumming, GA

June 14

Those who understand the way of Christ know that we always, as the gospel song says, “Take the high road through the valley.”

June 15

The universal gift of the Holy Spirit is unique to the followers of Christ. Religions offer some access to the ‘spirit(s)’ but they require rituals, inside knowledge, inherited status, aestheticism or sacrifices. Through Christ the Spirit is given to all who trust in Him and with that comes love, enlightenment, life and hope.

June 16

It is a bit late for some of you but I thought this letter was a great testimony written by a man about his father, David Wilkerson. David Wilkerson was the notable minister who wrote the book The Cross and the Switchblade. The book was later made into a movie and Wilkerson’s part was played by Pat Boone. The story tells how he, a country preacher, was moved by the Holy Spirit to go to New York and witness to some very dangerous gangs. As a result he won many to Christ and started the ministry to drug addicts called Teen Challenge.
Last month David Wilkerson and his wife were driving along a New York highway when his car lurched across a median and stuck a truck head on. David was the only fatality and it is suspected he may have had a sudden heart attack. He will be remembered as one of God’s true and faithful servant who would not trade integrity for fame. Editor
David Wilkerson Today

FRIDAY, APRIL 29, 2011

by Gary Wilkerson about David Wilkerson

“David served the purposes of God in his generation, then he died” (Acts

13:36).



On Wednesday afternoon my father, David Wilkerson, passed away in a car

accident. We grieve the loss of a beloved father, a faithful husband and a holy

man of God. My mother, Gwen, his wife of 57 years, was in the car also, but we

are told she will recover fully.

Dad’s 60-plus years of ministry have impacted the lives of those closest to

him and extended to millions around the world. Today we feel a personal loss,

but at the same time we rejoice knowing Dad lived life to the fullest, obeying

God with devotion and loving Jesus radically.

He was known for his unlimited faith. He believed God could change the lives of

gang members and transform the most desperate drug addicts. He believed that

a dynamic church could be launched in the heart of Times Square, New York

City.

He believed he could be a man who loved his wife and children well. And he did.

Dad was not one for fanfare, acclaim or ceremony. He turned down invitations to

meet with world leaders yet would give everything he owned to support a poor

orphan or a widow in distress.

Like King David of old, Dad served God’s purposes in his generation. He

preached with uncompromising passion and relentless grace. He wrote with

amazing insight, clarity and conviction. He ran his race well and when his work

was done, he was called home.


I don’t think my father would have retired well. I don’t think he was one

to sit in a rocking chair and reminisce about times past. I believe that Jesus,

knowing this, graciously called him home.


Dad’s last mission on earth was to be an advocate for the poorest of the

poor—to provide relief and support for hungry children and widows and

orphans. After founding Teen Challenge, World Challenge and Times Square

Church, he sought to feed starving children in the most impoverished countries

in the world. Today, Please Pass the Bread is saving the lives of thousands of

children, through 56 outreaches in 8 countries.


Like King David of old, after having served God’s purpose, he died. I know if

my father were able to encourage you with his words today, he would invite you

to give your all to Jesus, to love God deeply and to give yourself away to the

needs of others.


The works he began outlive him. We can all attest to his impacting us—not

only in his preaching, writing and founding of world-changing ministries, but

in his love, devotion, compassion and ability to stir our faith for greater

works.


June 17

The History Channel recently did a documentary on a young man who is classified as a “savant.” The demonstration was amazing. This young man has artistic talent and is famous for reproduction of what he sees to the slightest detail. The documentary was contrived to demonstrate his talents. First they flew him over Rome. Then they gave him a box of pencils and a huge sheet of paper. Over four days he was able to draw from a large portion of the area over which he had flown with intricate detail. He was able to reproduce streets, proportions, and down to the details on buildings including fascia and the number of windows.
We continue to be amazed at the power of the human brain and can only speculate where such abilities come from. I offer one speculation. Could this be a residual power left over from the “Fall “of mankind? Was first man and woman endowed with such powers in God’s original intent? Are such powers what we can expect when we have been raised in newness of Life with Christ and receive our new bodies? I think so and it is much more feasible than believe some aliens from another planet gave these genetic powers.

1 Corinthians 2
1 When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. 2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. 4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.
6 We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7 No, we speak of God’s secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 However, as it is written:
“No eye has seen,
no ear has heard,
no mind has conceived
what God has prepared for those who love him”—
10 but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.

June 18

We always need to get people to define their terms and meanings.
"The word "good" has many meanings. For example, if a man were to shoot his grandmother at a range of five hundred yards, I should call him a good shot, but not necessarily a good man." G.K. Chesterton

June 19

I have no interest in being “smart.” I want to be wise. Any collection of knowledge is partial but wisdom is complete in itself because it leads to right living and a life pleasing to God.


June 20

"When God Touches a Life"


"The Lord has for me a number of days.
The first, of which, were less than a haze.
The last, of which, has not been seen.
The stages of life lie in between.

Dare I pick a favorite or best?
That would be an impossible test.
You see, treasures lie within each one.
How could I pick until they're done.

The point is not it's joys and sorrows.
It's what I've learned for my tomorrows.
Whether I am in this stage or that.
One thing is sure, I can never go back.

There are regrets, how could there not be?
In this fleeting life that God's given me.
Oh, yes, there have been surprises too.
I would not have gone there, if only I knew.

But, somewhere along life's unpredictable road.
God took my hand and carried my load.
Where He's leading, I do not know.
But, I will trust Him wherever I go.

When He's brought me to the place.
When I shall soon see His face.
I will reflect on days gone by.
And be able to say without a sigh.

That God has led through every stage.
And has scripted every page.
The point is this, of life's race.
That we reflect His beautiful face!

That was already done for me.
When Christ died upon that tree.
So, boldly I'll go to heavens door.
Without regrets to abhor.

My life has been His work of art.
Who am I, to tear it apart?
I love my Lord. Will you love Him too?
With your life, who knows what He'll do?"


Lauren Reichart, member of Parkway Church


June 21

Historical knowledge or memory is often unreliable except to teach us lessons. Historical knowledge is selective, limited, gilded, muddied, and political. We should primarily look for signs and testimonies of character or nobility and avoid using history to justify or curse our own age.

June 22


Love informs our behavior as Christians. We may hold very strong opinions but we must always honor one another and to walk in faith and charity. When we do that God honors us by giving the full blessing and flow of His grace.
“The art of disagreeing is being agreeable when you disagree.” Keith Brown, Missionary

June 23

…from my work in the DC business world, I have learned that there is an intoxicating aspect to power. As the Pharisees "test" by Jesus in John 8, two things become clear:

1.) The Pharisees like being the party in office.

2.) Their determination to hold on to power blinded them to the truth of Jesus' teaching.

They (the Pharisees) can't understand the light of the world, the living water and the bread of life, even though the less educated around them were able to.

The way Jesus handles His authority is a wonderful contrast. He simply references the Father. He makes his authenticity clear, not on the basis of His own credentialing, but on the basis of His commitment to serve and obey something bigger than Himself.

I have learned long ago that if I can't reach deeper than my own credentials, I am certain to be inadequate. But if I can learn to act based on the Father's credentials and with His direction, the gates of Hell cannot stand.

Dan Juraschek, Bible Teacher and Personnel Director

June 24

Ed. In April of this year my grandson, Benjamin Emmerson, lost one of his friends to an early death. This lad was full of life and a gift to my grandson. This is the letter I received from my covenant daughter, Kathy. It is touching and full of faith.

Psalm 127:3 Children are a gift from the Lord, a reward from Him.


This has been a sad week for Ben and us. A 13 year old friend of Ben's lost his two month battle to cancer recently. So many hearts ache for his parents and sister even though we know heaven is celebrating Charlie's arrival. Of course memories and lost opportunities flood over us as our minds just keep pondering such a tragedy, yet ultimate triumph in Christ.

Ben used to go to school with Charlie until this year. Ben would frequently get in the car after school and tell me a funny "Charlie and me" story. We were trying to think of the last time Ben had seen Charlie. It dawned on us that it was at Charlie's 13th birthday party. He was so kind to invite Ben and Ben wanted to go since he didn't get the opportunity see him much anymore. As so often happens, there was a conflict with a soccer game and for some reason we thought it would be good for Ben to go to the party even though he would have to miss the second half of the game. The team already didn't have enough players that game, so this was not a popular decision. But, Ben had fun at the party and enjoyed seeing his old friends.

Somehow God knew that it would be the last time Ben would see his friend and that this party was much more important than a soccer game that no one even remembers the score of. It reminded me that life isn't about winning or beating others so you can feel better about yourself as the world wants us to believe. And the most valuable lessons aren't achieving goals & taking it to the next level. Naturally we want our kids to be responsible, and try their hardest, and even excel at what they do best. But, that is not what defines them or makes them valuable. Life's meaning is in the people God has placed in our paths, whether it's in school or in our neighborhood or on our team or in our family. How much better is making a friend smile or learning to love others as God loves us? Those moments leave us a legacy of memories and gratitude to Him who first loved us.

Philippians 2:15-16 So that you may become blameless and pure children of God ... in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life.

June 25

There was once a grasshopper who happened to wander from the far fields into a neatly cut lawn where he observed the most amazing of creatures. There stood the being on two legs, towering above the grasshopper and wandering about in the most amazing grace on the pillars which held him high in the air. The grasshopper watched this being move about until the creature began to approach. It was at that point that the grasshopper decided it was time to make haste to return to the far fields from which he had come. The food in his natural habitat was plentiful, the grass was good for hiding and the vision was limited. “It is a good thing, he thought, to have limited understanding of the awesome things beyond my world. The Creator has been kind to provide and to keep some things from us until we have understanding.”

9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. (I Corinthians 13)

June 26

Luke 6
6 On another Sabbath he went into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was shriveled. 7 The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath. 8 But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Get up and stand in front of everyone.” So he got up and stood there.
9 Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?”
10 He looked around at them all, and then said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and his hand was completely restored. 11 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were furious and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus.

“Jesus is in the ‘unshriveling’ business. He ‘unshrivels’ everything. “
***

“Jesus asked the man to do what he was unable to do. If I were ever to do only what I could do I would never advance.”

***

“God does indeed give us more than we can handle. If it were not so we would not need Him.” Bill Ford, Pastor of Parkway Church (all quotes)

June 27

If something is not part of our experience it may well be the human experience. If it is and it is constructive we will do well to pursue an understanding of it. This is the way all of us come to God.

***

"One hundred religious persons knit into a unity by careful organization does not constitute a church any more than eleven dead men make a football team." A.W. Tozer

June 28

Billy Graham said, “Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened.”


June 29

Tall order and his work…we lean…he carries…we fail…he redeems…I love that rhythm…In regard to the fruit of the Spirit we can never grow smug as tempted…even going people often say, “I love everybody” without ever ruffling a feather of the errant…or engaging in the challenges of life…the fiery among us are always clearly failing but engage life with verve…In the meantime all have fruit to develop but by His grace….

June 30

Don't cry because it's over; smile because it happened.

July 1

A closed loop take is a good illustration of how we can become trapped in our messages. Someone once gave me one which played the message over and over without any variety or change. Some people are living in closed loops. They never get worse but they also never seem to improve and largely because they do not have enough discernment to pursue Truth or heart to seek to grow.


July 2

What is providence? It can perhaps been understood and appreciated more by this little analogy.

Have you ever noticed that when you seek to be in control of your life it doesn’t quite work out the way you thought it would? In our boastings we are often like the ant floating down a turbulent river and yelling all the while, “Raise the drawbridge!” The reality is that we have two choices by which to live. We can wave our banners of self exaltation or we can let the wind fill our sails
The truth is that we are moved along by forces other than our own. We have some freedom but it is always within bounds. We may steer a little but it is generally with the force of the river. Some wise ones defined that power Providence. But then they are the ones who have learned to steer with the flow instead of paddle themselves into dead and stagnant pools.

July 3

God is always pressing us to believe. Belief is not a climb up to anything. Belief is not exercising more effort or straining our psychics. Belief is simply “receiving” what God has clearly said is ours to possess or enjoy. It is resting in God’s finished promises and works of redemption.


July 4

Psalm 137
Today's New International Version (TNIV)

1 By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept
when we remembered Zion.
2 There on the poplars
we hung our harps,
3 for there our captors asked us for songs,
our tormentors demanded songs of joy;
they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
4 How can we sing the songs of the LORD
while in a foreign land?
5 If I forget you, Jerusalem,
may my right hand forget its skill.
6 May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth
if I do not remember you,
if I do not consider Jerusalem
my highest joy…

This is a poignant Psalm. It set against the backdrop of the Babylonian Exile of the Jews of the Southern Kingdom, Judah, of the divided Israel. The leaders and movers of the nation were taken into captivity to Babylonia to keep them from rebuilding the walls and ruins of Jerusalem which included the Temple of Solomon.
As Exiles, the Jews were without a nation, without the holiest place of their worship and without any hope of being reunited with their families and friends in their life times. They looked longingly backward as their captors taunted them.
The point Psalm 131 makes is that the Jews had stopped singing. They had become dispirited and given up. Then, their tormentors came and taunted them to sing their old songs. The Jews ask themselves, “How can we sing the songs of the LORD while in a foreign land?” This is an emotional question. It is legitimate. They do not feel like singing and we can easily understand why. They simply see no reason to sing.

However…Faith suddenly kicks in! Their tormentors have driven them to take their instruments from where they hang in the poplars. They find that spark again as the Psalmist speaks, “If I forget you, Jerusalem my right hand forget its skill…May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth!” And sing they did! They went on to write numerous new Psalms, collect the books of the law and prophets and to teach their children the ways of God among His people. It was this resolve that prepared the way for the coming of Christ who supplanted the need for a temple and a place because His name is “Emmanuel”, God with us!

When we feel we can no longer go on we need to reach out by faith to other times and remember what God did before He can and will do again. He never forsakes those who put their faith in Him.

***

"Perhaps it takes a purer faith to praise God for unrealized blessings than for those we once enjoyed or those we enjoy now." A.W. Tozer



July 5
Patience is more than endurance. A saint's life is in the hands of God like a bow and arrow in the hands of an archer. God is aiming at something the saint cannot see, and He stretches and strains, and every now and again the saint says--'I cannot stand anymore.' God does not heed, He goes on stretching till His purpose is in sight, then He lets fly. Trust yourself in God's hands. Maintain your relationship to Jesus Christ by the patience of faith. 'Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him." Oswald Chambers

July 6

In the teachings of Jesus, “The plain thing is the main thing and the main thing is the plain thing.” Bill Ford, Pastor



July 7

The closer an authority is to the people the more effective it is in producing character development, order, productivity, accountability and understanding of the problems which universally affect communities. The further an authority is from the people the more inefficient it is on all fronts and the more insensitive it is to human problems with correspondent impotency to solve real human problems.

July 8

I learned two incredible related things recently that make me wonder once again what planet I am on. The first is that Costco sells caskets and funerary. That is death at wholesale. Do they have a discount funeral director and rent a preacher also?
The second similar disregard for the dignity of life and death is that the AARP recommends the following as a means of saving money for its retired members:

“37. Go out green. Biodegradable coffins and other ecofriendly burial measures can cost half to two-thirds less than traditional burials. Get information and provider listings at greenburialcouncil.org.” AARP Magazine, July-August, 2011
It appears that all sensitivity to humanity and real issues has been lost! What will they be suggesting next? Will they be recommending a year from now that we donate our bodies to the Lion House at the zoo? That would be even more ecofriendly and it would cost nothing unless they want us to pay to get our bodies delivered. Are they teaching this stuff in schools these days? If so, I missed that class!

***

We do not worship the body. We do not denigrate the body. We see the body as a gift through which we express our self-hood. Both body and soul are gifts from God and should be reverenced as such.

***

A sacrament is an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace. “In a way the human body is a sacrament of the self.” Martin X. Moleski, Journal 76, September/October 2005, Mars Hill Audio

July 9

Ed. The following story which came over the network was just too interesting to pass up. I cannot vouch for its validity. However, I print it with the caution that when you pray for rain you should carry an umbrella.

TEXAS BEER JOINT SUES CHURCH

In Mt. Vernon, Texas, Drummond's Bar began construction on expansion of their building to increase their business.

In response, the local Baptist Church started a campaign to block the bar from expanding with petitions and prayers. Work progressed right up until the week before the grand reopening when lightning struck the bar and it burned to the ground!

After the bar burning to the ground by a lightning strike, the church folks were rather smug in their outlook, bragging about "the power of prayer", until the bar owner sued the church on the grounds that the church . . ."was ultimately responsible for the demise of his building, either through direct or indirect actions or means."

In its reply to the court, the church vehemently denied all responsibility or any connection to the building's demise.

The judge read through the plaintiff's complaint and the defendant's reply, and at the opening hearing he commented "I don't know how I'm going to decide this, but it appears from the paperwork that we have a bar owner who believes in the power of prayer, and an entire church congregation that now does not."

July 10

Some years ago I was asked to lead a youth week at The Forest United Methodist Church in Forest, Virginia. I was still in college at the time but had my sights set on the ministry to which I believed I had a definite call. The pastor of the church at that time was The Reverend William Boyd Bryant who had taken an interest in me and encouraged my development at every turn. At any rate, Pastor Boyd suggested I make the theme of the week simply “The Church.”

When he first made that suggestion I reacted internally. Frankly, I could have thought of anything more boring. Was I wrong! Subsequent study of the scripture convinced me that I had missed something regarding the church from my own limited exposure to ho hum attitudes of many leaders in my own church. They were good people but they were also caught in the deadly routine of “officiating” and “stewarding” and whatever that meant.

A good long look at the church in the New Testament began to change me radically. Today the church and its life is my continuing passion and it still occupies a lot of my daily praying and thoughts.

I only want to ask one question. The answer to that question will make all the difference for you in finding a vital connection to the community within which you and I as believers will spend eternity. How can we read the book of Acts without wondering where and why that enthusiasm, energy and devotion of the early church has gone in the contemporary church?

All of us need to come to visceral terms with the book of the Acts of the Apostles and let it expose our own spiritual climate. Hopefully, it will nudge us all into a qualitative fellowship with God’s people who are aware church is more than an organization.

The church is an organism: a family; “a chosen people; a spiritual house; a royal priesthood; a people belonging to God; a holy nation;” and above all “the body of Christ” through which courses his Life. I hope that even if you cannot find such a noble expression of the church that at least your hunger will be increased or you will get a taste of it. While intended for the present the church is every in every believer’s future.


July 11

Many churches around the world are very often museums of religious memorabilia. Or they are like banks holding the riches of Christ and doling them out to needy patrons. Christ knows little of such penury.

July 12

Having a biblical faith is our salvation from having a wild and misguided faith. Having an experiential faith is our salvation from having a dead faith.

***

Faith is neither a noun nor a verb. Metaphorically speaking it is both.

***

Some Evangelicals often love to cite the errors of classical churches by saying they are not interested in the “saving of souls.” Yet, those same evangelicals may be cited for not making disciples and being only concerned about closing a deal that never takes anyone deeper into service or the riches of Christ.

July 13

Jesus made it clear with his “abide in me” speech in John 15 speech that a relationship with him is possible for the most common of us. This was nothing short of a bomb that was tossed into the chambers of all priesthoods. Jesus is not the only savior of the world but he is the only intermediary between us and God.

***

The error of many who are against “papist” leaders often become smaller popes themselves who pontificate and rule over smaller numbers by creating a dependence of the masses upon their leadership. Protestantism was supposed to put faith in God within reach of the masses. The scriptures teach us that access to God is limited to those of faith. It is simply not the franchise, the gift, the exclusive calling or the expertise of a select few.

July 14

“Our word ‘Church’ is connected with civilized organizations of religious people; Our Lord’s attitude to the Church is different. He says it is composed of those who have had a personal revelation from God as to Who Jesus Christ is and have made a public declaration of the same. (Matthew 16: 13-20)” Oswald Chambers, The Shadow of an Agony

July 15

Just as the Father sent Jesus so he sends us. The church is never correctly poised on on “going in, or deeper, or higher.” It is set to go out, to share with and to serve the world beyond its faith community. And as it does it will go in closer to the heart of God, go deeper in understanding and grow higher in the favor of God, the Father.

***

“We can evangelize or we can fossilize.” Bill Ford, Pastor of Parkway Church, Cumming, GA.

***

The work of evangelization is not a matter of the church organizing missions. It begins with an attitude and becomes actualized when believers share their faith with those in their inner circles in prayerful and natural ways.

July 16

Our Ransom is way beyond measure,

Our value seems so over-priced.

What was the worth of the Life of our Savior,

The cost to our Lord Jesus Christ?


Robert Batters, Poet

July 17

Jesus did not come merely to insulate his people from pains and the trials of this life. It is clear that if we are to follow him we must bear a cross. We will suffer trials. We will endure pains. We will, in fact, find that there are weights added to our shoulders other than the ones other inhabitants of the earth normally carry.

The good news is this! We may become increasingly more like Him as we follow:

1. These trials we have in His name will become happy things because His burden is light;
2. We will find we do not pull alone because we are “yoked with Christ” and often enjoy an unusually sense of His presence;
3. We will find that in all things we will have increasing understanding of His grace and love;
4. We will learn that as we share in His sacrifice we will also “share in the inheritance of the saints.”
Do not let anyone tell you Jesus came just to insulate you. If you do you will miss the point of the fullness of life in Christ. Jesus came to illuminate. He came to make sense of this life, to give the hope of resurrection from the ashes and to give joy in the plodding pilgrims so that they may labor in his name and sing through the night.

July 18

Some logic is interesting but faulty:

False Conclusions

My mother took vitamins and my brother and I were born without a sinus condition. Conclusion: vitamins keep you from having sinus conditions.

If you drop a worm in alcohol the worm will die. Conclusion: if you drink alcohol you won’t have worms.

The explorers of the Scott expedition to the South Pole ate seal meat. Later they were plagued with troubles and later found dead in their sleeping bags. Conclusion: Seal meat will kill you. (Tell that to an Eskimo. However, I might add it most definitely will get you in trouble with my granddaughter, Corynne, who loves seals. She has a house full of them; stuffed ones, that is.)

My father loved cornbread and buttermilk. I was born with corns. Conclusion: My father is at fault for my foot problems because he ate corn bread.

The cow is dry. We depend on the cow for milk and our daily livelihood from making cheese, butter and milk products. Conclusion: we should kill the cow so we can have something to sell. (The goose which lays golden eggs is next.)

We have had record breaking snows during the year 2010. We are also experiencing unprecedented earthquakes. Conclusion: The snow load on some parts of the earth has caused stress in others.

We as a nation are deeply in debt and soon our debts will catch us with us and destroy our economy. Conclusion: We need to borrow more so we can lend more and stimulate our economy more so we may borrow more and go into more debt.

Conclusions of All Conclusions

A people who do not honor God are doomed to dumbness and moral decline.
Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Psalm 14:1-3 The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none that does good. The LORD looks down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there are any that act wisely, that seek after God. They have all gone astray, they are all alike corrupt; there is none that does good, no, not one.
The fear (awe and respect) of God is the beginning of wisdom and moral stability.
Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

July 19

Among the many things Christ does for us it is clear that he comes to save us from our natural inclinations which trap us. Sin, fear, pride and greed trap us but so do patterns we formed because of these things. Many people live in closed loops of repeating the same script over and over without ever breaking out into a new understanding of the truth and, as a consequence, a new life through Christ. To be “saved” is one thing but to be a follower of Christ is another. To be a follower of Christ is to be delivered from our illusions as He increasingly reveals the landscape of His kingdom.

July 20

The Bible is often seen as a manual. Some of it is. Leviticus and Numbers parts of Deuteronomy may be seen as a “manual” because they describe rituals and procedures in conducting them. The term “manual” has a certainty to it which is why people use the term to describe the Bible. However, it is a mistake to see the Bible as a manual. At places it is very explicit and at other times, in fact most of the time, it requires a great deal of interpretation. That is why the rabbinical law was instituted. The rabbis tried to give the detail which the scriptures did not give. In doing so, they fell into the absurdity of trying to produce a manual of life.
We will do better if we were to understand the Bible as a narrative of principles which are radical, practical and applicable to our lives. However, we cannot grasp them without the “wisdom” that God gives us through his Holy Spirit. Jesus says, when the counselor (the Holy Spirit) come he will lead you into all truth. James says, “if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask it of God who gives to all men freely. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.” The Bible sets the perimeters. The Spirit gives us the nuances of applications to life.

July 21

The Christian who cannot see or laugh at the absurdities of this world and human life does not understand the nature of heaven.

***

“Nature is inferior to man in many things, but most of all in respect of the human specialty of humor.” G.K. Chesterton, Illustrated London News, January 10, 1931

July 22

The person who does not believe he needs anyone else or anything bigger than himself has probably not ever considered with real with due consideration just why he wears underwear.

July 23

Above all Jesus was probably the most natural man who has ever lived and moved about with a confidence that far exceeded the heroic figures of film and myth. I like to say that “Jesus was a natural.” The world was His and He was at home in it. The heavens were his domain and from that realm he had created all things.

Jesus has infinitely more ease in relating to His creation than a human being would have with any machine he has built. He was supernatural precisely because He was so natural and totally at ease in human skin. As one friend used to say, “Jesus was naturally supernatural and supernaturally natural.” That about says it for me!
Christians need to grow in Christ and thus to be at ease in their skins and this world. This is now our domain because we are Christ’s and we are here even as He is here. In that sense, we share in both Christ’s supernaturalism of rest in this world and thus His naturalness.

July 24

When I read the letters of C.S. Lewis to his unbelieving friends I look with envy on the reasonable and open friendship displayed there. The same tone can be said of his literary group called “Inklings.” Clearly there have been places and times when viewpoints were share and heard. Do they exist today? Are we even looking for such venues? I fear we have lost this particular art which has always contributed to personal growth and friendship and we are the poorer for it. Every discussion should not be agenda or issue driven. In fact, friendship is only possible when we can open our hearts and learn from the experiences of others.

July 25

The new believer must understand from the beginning that if one is to follow Christ there will be a palpable hatred or dislike projected at them on occasions from those who are not believers. This dislike will not always be attributable to anything specific and that very illogic makes it difficult to understand or get clarity. One may only conclude that it is a dark and spiritual response and no effort to reconcile will necessarily end the reaction. If anything can, love and prayer will.

July 26

The believer must also be prepared to find that the pragmatic logic of this world which always says “save yourself”, “enrich yourself”, “empower yourself” and “put self first” are contrarian to the message of Christ. Such pragmatism is not practical as many suppose. That is because pragmatism gets us to the desired ends at too great of a human cost. Christ is practical because he fulfills the highest longings we have with the noblest and most fulfilling results.

July 27

We may have no need to protect ourselves. That is a decision we make for ourselves. However, it seems that we have a Christian duty to protect others. We begin with the lowest level of resistance. First we begin to pray for those who prey on others. We then find ways to love them. Then we appeal in words and to whatever legal justice exists. Finally, we resist with whatever means we have when human systems break down. Evil must be confronted, contained and resisted or we become part of the evil.

July 28

I discovered the following words in a book entitled, The Best in Christian Writing 2004. They seem to encapsulate my feelings so completely that I believe they must touch someone else the same way. The piece is almost a poem with its lyrical rhythm. Enjoy! Editor

Who Am I?
Who am I? They call me Preacher. I am a coarse and common man, a dreamer and a deep feeler. I have never found the sweet spot between raucous laughter and quiet devotion, and I hope I never do. It is good to be ever juggling these virtues.
I am constantly found guilty of the sin of words. Vulgarity is not my downfall, though I am vulgar. My sin is having words that are far more beautiful than my life.
How graceful are those whose lives outshine their words.
Perhaps my life will catch up with my mouth someday. Perhaps my body will catch up to my heart, my hands to my eyes, my feet to my soul.
I have nothing to offer the Creator but myself. Here I am. I have nothing to claim but grace. I want more from life than I deserve and have given back less than I should.
I cannot see the path. I know not the way. I have not avoided the obstacles. Blinded and uncertain, I have only this prayer:
Be Thou my Vision.
Gordon Atkinson, Christian Writer

July 29

Good Cliché’
“You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person. “
Add On
You will be a better friend if you share your friends and see yourself as enlarging the friendship circles of others.
July 30
A Christian once quoted someone who had taught him. He said, “We need no explanation for those who do not believe in God. For those who do not need an explanation no explanation will work anyway.” It sounds fatalistic doesn’t it? However, it is true. A closed mind is a closed mind and a closed heart is a closed heart.

July 31

The following was sent by a friend Bea Canning:

Let God Choose
As for God, His way is perfect! Psalm 18:30
Let God choose for you, it will be the right decision.
Let God guide you, it will be the right direction.
Let God plan for you, it will be in the right timing.
Let God measure for you, it will be the right portion.
Let God help you, it will be the right care.
Let God instruct you, it will be the right teaching.
Let God prepare you, it will be the right training.
Let God counsel you, it will be the right perspective.
Let God fight for you, it will be the right outcome.
Let God work in you, it will be the right result.

-Roy Lessin, Meet Me in the Meadow


August 1

There are places- geographical areas- where creativity seems to hang in the air as a smoke scented cloud. Such areas seem to produce artists, seers, and social contributors as if they have breathed in the cloud and conjured up visions. I think the explanation for this is simple. We influence one another and in influencing one another we create an atmosphere that is infectious. We do it for good or ill.

August 2

The scariest thing of all in human society is “group think.” Christians need to be aware of this. Cultivated “group think” is the first sign of cultism. What most often happens is that such groups do several things: 1. Work to separate followers emotionally from all other support groups and families; 2.) begin to emphasize obedience or uncritical honor of the leadership; 3.) bestow merit to the obedient and mock the more analytical of the group; 4.) expel the unworthy; 5.) and move enmasse (as a mob) against opponents or outsiders to conform to the group without question.

August 3

“To love means loving the unlovable. To forgive means pardoning the unpardonable. Faith means believing the unbelievable. Hope means hoping when everything seems hopeless.” G.K. Chesterton

August 4

Religion catechizes, anesthetizes, ritualizes, paralyzes and fanaticizes. Religion is that voice which tells one to be ascetic, a legalist, humorless and spiritual egotist. Christ, as the Way, the Truth and the Life, cuts through all of this with his words, “Follow me.” We gain what we seek in Him through a step by step process and all the time God accounts it to us as having arrived. Religion says, “Achieve.” Christ says “Receive.”

August 5

I remember the words of a children’s song but don’t know its’ title. It went like this:
“A bell is not a bell until the bell is rung
and a gate is not a gate until the gate been swung.
A song is not a song until the song has been sung.”

Most of us go to our graves
with our music still inside of us.
So- sing your song today!


August 6

Believer vs. Hypocrite

The believer worships God in his heart, but sins with his mouth.

The hypocrite worships God with his mouth, but sins with his heart.

Bob Batters


August 7

Evangelization involves telling and explaining the personal significance of Christ to the world. It also goes beyond that. We evangelize any time we demonstrate the winsomeness, the love and the redemptive power of Christ.

August 8

A government official was recently advocating for a project which was his responsibility to promote. He sat down with some of the best scientists in the nation. In response to his pressure one of the scientists said, “Well if the federal government insists upon it we will be in violation of the laws of physics.” The bureaucrat looked at him blankly and said, “What laws?” The scientist replied, “The laws of physics.” The official then blithely responded, “Then we will have to change those laws.”


August 9

A truly fulfilled person is one who
can enjoy the scenery on a detour.


August 10

Recently, a large apartment building in China toppled over without even breaking up. It was an unusual phenomenon caused by an erosion of the foundation material behind the building and undercutting the foundation. Foundations are important.
Most of us are content to look at only the effect of things. Few of us look at foundations. For example, what are the principles upon which an action is taken? When someone tells us they want progress or change what are the principles that will guide them?
I am reminded about something someone said about building our houses upon the sand.

August 11

Someone has dumbly said that a person who has read 26 books on a subject is considered an expert. Nothing is said of the mastery of the thing. Nothing is said of the understanding of the subject. Nothing is said about what one does with the knowledge gained from such reading.
The modern world seems to thrive on facts. “Knowledge is power”, they say. However, knowledge is not power if there is no understanding. That is something which God puts deep down in the inquiring heart and that is something that we need to ferret out with our entire fact gathering. “What does it mean?” This is the question we must always be asking the Holy Spirit if we are to gain wisdom and know the ways of God better.

***

"The author who benefits you most is not the one who tells you something you did not know before, but the one who gives expression to the truth that has been dumbly struggling in you for utterance." Oswald Chambers

August 12

Much of our life is spent on endless speculation and talking about subjects about which we can do little. Those discussions can be almost about anything from current events to politics or religious doctrines gone awry.

We may think our discussions are about “high things” but I have recently come to the painful conviction that such talk is often no higher than gossip. I say this because gossip is talking about people and things with rumors, gossip and general sullying of that which may even be debased already. I have to challenge myself constantly, “Why should I give the devil the air time when we can more seriously devote myself to prayer and witness to the good?”

I have to admit that I have engaged in such discussions until they usually become toxic. I am convicted that I must break from them as an addict would from their personal addiction. The bottom line is that such fascination keeps my eyes off of what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable and praiseworthy. (See Philippians 4:8)
All I can say is “Lord, have mercy. As Isaiah of old said, ‘Woe is me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King”, the Lord (Jesus) Almighty.’ ”
Likewise, my friends, forgive me when I have “toxified” your soulscape.

***

"Beware of being obsessed with consistency to your own convictions instead of being devoted to God. The important consistency in a saint is not to a principle but to the divine life. It is easier to be an excessive fanatic than it is to be consistently faithful, because God causes an amazing humbling of our religious conceit when we are faithful to Him." Oswald Chambers

***

"I want the presence of God Himself, or I don't want anything at all to do with religion... I want all that God has or I don't want any." A.W. Tozer

August 13

I hope must of my associates have the same restlessness I do. I grew up in a time before the labels “attention deficit disorder (ADD) or hyperactive” came into vogue. If they had been in vogue I probably would never have found my way to the disciplines that most of us normally require in order to learn and to grow.
You might say curiosity almost got me killed or injured at one time another. I am remembering the times as a kid when I stuck some wires into a live socket to “see what would happen.” I remember another time when I sawed into a .50 caliber bullet casing in order to make a brass tube and cut into the unexploded primer. (We never found the casing and thankfully I have my sight and fingers intact.) Another failed experiment was when my brother and I mixed all kinds of household items together to create unknown medicines and even tasted them. Thankfully, they tasted abominably and we quickly spit them out.

I can only say that I am glad that this quest for understanding and experiencing things came to a sharp focus when I gave my heart over to Christ for his indwelling. I continue today with the desire to know but I realize it has its roots in being a child of God and that does not involve the knowledge of things so much as knowing the One who made it all and finding our “rest in Him.”

***

"The yearning to know what cannot be known, to comprehend the incomprehensible, to touch and taste the unapproachable, arises from the image of God in the nature of man. Deep calleth unto deep, and though polluted and landlocked by the mighty disaster theologians call the Fall, the soul senses its origin and longs to return to its source." A.W. Tozer

August 14

I note that those who put their faith in technology often say can you imagine what it was like “in the old days” when __________? We say such things with a certain smugness that we are a lot better off often without even giving credit to those of “olden days” for giving us a shoulder up and over the wall.

Those souls lived by faith. We, on the other hand, have changed faith to confidence. They believed in a higher power. We seem to think we know now how to capitalize on energy inherent in creation so that we don’t need any outside reference. They valued humility. To modern man humility is an ancient “shibboleth” which is used occasionally but not a virtue likely to get you ahead in life.

So do we need faith? It seems to me that with all the facts we collect we are still thrust into situations where we must conjecture, imagine and commit to a statement of faith. The vast collection of information available still leaves us in the realm of imagination, does it not? That means, it would seem, that we are never able to escape using primitive measures and resorting to going wherever our minds will take us. That is not sure knowledge, therefore. It is just being human.

Humans may have information but that is not the end of the matter. Humility is always required when we investigate the grand things of creation and that fact brings the philosopher, theologian and the empirical scientist to the same window of discovery. No one ever enters the chamber where empirical knowledge rules. Reason alone does not give us motivation to go forward. Only faith does that.

***


“To the orthodox (the believer) there must always be a case for revolution. For in the hearts of men God has been put under the feet of Satan. In the upper world hell once rebelled against heaven. But in this world heaven is rebelling against hell. For the orthodox there can always be a revolution; for a revolution is a restoration.” G.K. Chesterton


August 15

The following is an interesting story (purported to be true) illustrating that when you give humans a good thing like rules for guidance that critical thinking is often set aside for fear of making mistakes or getting blame for acting on common sense.

It was a normal day in Sharon Springs, Kansas , when a Union Pacific crew boarded a loaded coal train for the long trek to Salina .

Just a few miles into the trip a wheel bearing became overheated and melted, letting a metal support drop down and grind on the rail, creating white hot molten metal droppings spewing down to the rail.

A very alert crew noticed smoke about halfway back in the train and immediately stopped the train in compliance with the rules.

The train stopped with the hot wheel over a wooden bridge with creosote ties and trusses.

The crew tried to explain this to Union Pacific higher-ups but were instructed not to move the train
They were informed that Rules prohibited moving the train when a part was found to be defective!

August 16

Tolerance is a virtue to the person who has no allegiance or commitment to the importance of quality human life. Compassion is the better word for the Christian; that, with thanksgiving and humility.

***

"If sympathy is all that human beings need, then the Cross of Christ is an absurdity and there is absolutely no need for it. What the world needs is not "a little bit of love," but major surgery. If you think you are helping lost people with your sympathy and understanding, you are a traitor to Jesus Christ. You must have a right-standing relationship with Him yourself, and pour your life out in helping others in His way— not in a human way that ignores God.“ Oswald Chambers (My Utmost for His Highest: Traditional Updated Edition)
"The remarkable thing about God is that when you fear God, you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God, you fear everything else." Oswald Chambers

August 17

Candor stirs up insecurities. Social propriety exists and is encouraged in order to keep people comfortable. The wise person knows when candor or propriety is effective. There is little use in being candid to person or a group of people unless they are there to listen to a lecture. Frankly, I have been told people don’t like lectures. However, one may gain from or contribute to a candid conversation with another soul who wants to make the most of a good evening and grow in understanding.


August 18

Just living in this world we have to have limitations and requirements to survive or achieve. An ice skater develops legs to skate. They cannot do well without those skater legs. We need legs to live…as a morality to stand on.
Morality is that which givers your life value. Immorality takes away from your value. Just so, Jesus’ commands are not there to make your life miserable but to make your life happier and more fulfilling than it could be any other way. If it makes you miserable, push through and you will discover on the other side a land of wonderful opportunities and joy.


August 19

At the core of every sin is the desire for love. This desire causes us to pursue adoration, self-esteem, or love in many perverse ways. All the time, love is what God gives us and when we understand God’s love it makes all the difference in how we live. Our natural and unredeemed natures always want more. When we get love we want more. Yet, God cannot love us any more than He does and the way he loves us is more than any other could. . His love ends all need to search for more love and sets us on a path to be able to give it, really give love, to others.


August 17

There are two types of people to whom Jesus really ministered: the devastated and the self-satisfied. He was an encouragement to the devastated. He discomforted the self-satisfied. In fact, one might say he was so direct with the self-satisfied that they killed him. He was so encouraging to the devastated that they found courage and vision to win the whole world to the radical, hopeful and life-changing way of life Christ ushered into human society.

August 20

“Evangelicals” and other enthusiasts who love Christ have taught us something. One should delight and enjoy the Lord. However, do no think the Christian life is about some visible emotional connection alone. There are numerous people who simply believe and trust. Their enjoyment comes with a quiet serene nature flowing out into works of kindness and sacrifice.

The key to a relationship with God through Christ is to receive. When we receive there is an effect. Do not make the mistake of dictating to others that they must be emotionally charged. The fact is that the emotional person needs to develop a reasonable faith. The rational person would do well to allow the Lord touch their emotions.

In the end, every person’s journey is an intensely personal one as the Holy Spirit tailors a life for us out of the fabric of our personas. We can be assured that in the end He will fashion a whole and balanced personality when we respond appropriately.

August 21

There is no virtue of the elect in being among the elect. Our standing with God is a wonderful mystery. I think that is the whole point of the concept. It is a mystery why some receive Christ and some do not. Our Father in heaven has always been closer than hands or feet and offering his embrace and Sprit to us. I do not think the scriptures intend for the references to the elect to become a doctrine. The term is best looked upon as a description of those who have opened their eyes and ears to see and hear and who have also opened their hearts and received.

August 22

When we look at all the bad things going on in the world we should think of it in relative terms. If you wish, bad things may be quantified. Compare them to what is really significant in your life compared to eternity or the cosmos by using the following mathematical notation:
00000000000000000000000000000000001/100,000,000,000,000,000 squared to infinity

That is what is really important in your life. It amounts to not taking things so seriously that you lose perspective of how much it matters from the divine perspective. You may make mistakes but they do not upset the universe so much that God cannot correct the deviations caused by your failures.

Life is serious and it is real but there is still time to change how you will live it for eternity while you view all present things, good and bad. They are but preparation for the bliss of enjoying all qualities for which your heart longs in your efforts to find fulfillment with the apparitional substance of this world.
The bottom line is this. We need simply to not let our failures to get too large or weighty upon our consciences. They are covered by the grace of God. Because of Him they are not as large in the grand scale of things as they seem.


August 23

When it comes to missions we are interested in those who have character and a call of God. We try to find out who is committed to spreading the gospel of Christ and ministering His love to others. Their work is very important and is usually very personal to their constituents. I tend to avoid those who use slick ads and promotion to get support. To us missions are a personal thing and require a heart-felt personal connection.

August 24

I tend to differ with G.K. Chesterton who said, "There are two ways to get enough. One is to continue to accumulate more and more. The other is to desire less." The truth is we never “get enough.” Even those who seek spirituality by pursuing poverty may go to extremes through aestheticism and denial of the self. The fact that we go to extremes is an indication we are yet flawed and only a divine exchange of a new character for our old one will be enough. The fruit of the Spirit is “temperance.” (Gal 5:22 KJV)

August 25


I have found that I have to personally renew the spiritual practices constantly. I am speaking of the following: prayer and meditation; praise and worship; solitude and scriptural study; submission and service; fasting and celebration and all with a slice of time devoted to each. Each new change in the setting of our lives; each new development of circumstance; and each new circle of friends of associates will bleed off the energy of these practices if we are not watchful. It is the nature of God to be constant; it is the nature of humankind to be changeable.

***

2 Timothy 2:11

11 This is a faithful saying:

For if we died with Him,
We shall also live with Him.
12 If we endure,
We shall also reign with Him.
If we deny Him,
He also will deny us.
13 If we are faithless,
He remains faithful;
He cannot deny Himself.


August 26

The cleansing of the Temple by Jesus is a problem with some people because it presents an image of Jesus they cannot accommodate. They want a Christ that is a succoring and a salving good Eartharian. When we reject Jesus as He presented Himself let us be honest. We are asking the question, “Was Jesus a Christian?”
***
“The invitation of Christ to us is to come and bow down.” Bill Ford

August 27

It is a wise parent, teacher or leader who makes themselves so valuable and interested to their child, student or follower that they will be sought for counsel.
It is also a wise instructor who recognizes that such a process will take time, be consistent until the instructed recognizes the need to receive what is being offered. We cannot force learning. We can only do our best to inspire it and leave the epiphany moment to God.

August 28

The Beatitudes
It is possible to be inoculated to Truth by the facts. Since we usually know only in part, most of our notions of truth seldom rise to the real Truth. We are blinded by what we know instead of being humbled by it.

Our truth is always spelled with a little “t.” This is the fundamental concept behind the “Beatitudes (I prefer “Being Attitudes”) of Christ. Knowing them and even trying to practice them does not make us holy. It is only when we are humbled by them that we begin to approach “holy living.”

The plain reality is that these standards are there as a measure of our soul’s progress we seldom rise to them and stay there for long. Furthermore, it is only by the grace of God that we maintain any semblance of being as Christ described the inner and outer life of the Christian in these measures of His.

August 29

As humans we are spiritually dormant and indolent. God’s first work is to come in and break up our fallow ground by life experiences and his Truth so we may receive the seed of His Word. If we resist the breaking by the emotional devices which are described by the psychologist as projection, accommodation, compartmentalization, obfuscation, etc. we will not grow in Him. The Christian should always remember that Psychology for the most part describes deviant behavior and we should never take comfort in anything that encourages us to silence our consciences. Our conscience, as defective as it is, is always our first line of remedy.

August 30

I was glad to hear our pastor confess at church recently that one of his favorite ministries was ministry at funerals. Of course everyone waited for the inevitable joke of funerals being a way of dispatching troublesome people. However, the pastor solemnly avoided that sorry joke and went on to explain who much it ministered to him to see people respond to the hope that is ours in Christ.

Funerals are probably the one time when Christians discover the powerful effect the gospel can have. I remember well the backhanded compliment of someone who once told me to my face I was a lousy communicator that I did “a good funeral.” That was gratifying. At least he thought I could communicate when it was important that I communicate. I can live with that.

The truth is that there is no ministry worth having if it doesn’t prepare us for dying. There is no value that means anything if it does not have an eternal measure. There is no human endeavor worth doing if it does not see that the ultimate goal in life is finishing well as in leaving the world a bit better than when we entered. We used to put it this way at camp, “Clean up behind yourself and find something you can do that is an improvement to your campsite.”

August 31

The one gift we can give every youth is a sense of vocation. Each of us needs to know that there is a purpose for our lives. God has a plan and a purpose for each of us. Do you want to give your children a gift? Challenge them to discover their call.

September 1

“Beam me up, Scottie” as if I am a collection of molecules and a set of plastic beads that can be disconnected and reconnected. Surprisingly there are those who probably think we will travel around the world one day by beaming from one place to another. They forget one thing. True Science describes physicality but it does not explain us or “Life” adequately. Theories of transporting by “beam” will have to take into account the meaning of being human or possibly commit a grave error by transporting cells from one place to another and leaving the human in some kind of limbo. It will be like taking a half ton of hamburger and reassembling it into a cow. How will they transport the moo?

It is not purpose of real science to go beyond process or physicality. The moment people press scientific method beyond its declared purpose Science becomes another Darwinian nightmare and pseudo-science. Transporting a body is nothing short of explaining a donkey with nine lives. (You know like the cat? I can’t resist the jab.) Which “strung out science fictionist” will be the first to volunteer?

***

saw a famous physicist espouse a doctrine that people are only a collection of chemicals. Then, with great pride, he showed off a room full of his personal awards for achievements in his field.

What award does a collection of chemicals deserve? If one is only a jarful of sulfur or slurry of other stuff why take pride in any achievement? There is dishonesty here.

September 2

The evidence that God is preparing things for the believer is in His track record recorded in the Bible and his grace in our personal lives. Wisely, every believer will make note is of the wonderful works of grace God works in their lives and make it a regular thing to give Him thanks. If we do not see it is because we are not looking or are not thankful.

***

I Corinthians 2

6 We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7 No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 However, as it is written:
“What no eye has seen,
what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived”
the things God has prepared for those who love him—
10 these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.

***

“For God is not merely mending, not simply restoring a status quo. Redeemed humanity is to be something more glorious than unfallen humanity…The greater the sin, the greater the mercy; the deeper the death the brighter the re-birth. And this super-added glory will, with true vicariousness, exalt all creatures and those who have never fallen will thus bless Adams’s fall.” C.S. Lewis, Miracles

September 3

Out there somewhere there is texting shorthand for Christians. Here is one for the texting masses and a smile or two: GJYH OR 666WGU. (Give Jesus your heart or the devil will get you.)


September 4

We can take a page from the spirit of the early church. They were forward looking as far as eternity. They understood that when we act unselfishly we take control over our destructive sense of self-preservation. They could do this because they were recipients of grace. They also knew that such a life was simply the way of those created in God’s image.
***
“When the church at Antioch sent out the first missionaries, Paul and Barnabas, they sent their most able leaders.” Keith Brown, Missionary

September 5

Familiarity breeds.

It is a fact that familiarity can breed contempt. However, familiarity breeds all kinds of things. It breeds families. It breeds relationships of all kinds. Familiarity is the core of social cohesion and contempt. Familiarity is to be desired and sought after. It is the means of conquering horizons, exploration of new territory, learning how to make good use of the moments we live.

September 6

We should live every day as if we were to experience the second coming of Christ. My covenant sister, Irene, had a friend who got engaged. Thereafter, she dressed formally every day whenever she went out with friends thinking every outing might turn out to be a surprise shower for her. That is having faith in our friends and their love for you!
By the way, she got her shower.

September 7

“So he who wills to reject nothing, wills the destruction of the will; for will is not only the choice of something, but the rejection of almost everything.” G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy, “The Destruction of Thought”

September 8

I think my spell check and grammar program are Biblical rebels. They often argue with direct quotes lifted directly from the Bible. Come to think of it, punctuation, grammar and spelling were added later…after the revelation, that is!

September 9

No one likes to think they are someone else’s project. In fact, it is demeaning and condescending to make others our projects. This is often times just what evangelistic Christians do because they have been taught evangelism is a kind of sales enterprise to get people to sign up for Jesus.

I say this to Christians, “Stop making people your projects!” Live your faith among others with all the enthusiasm, clear headedness, winsomeness and verve you have as a result of being touched by Christ. Shine, don’t score!
The evangelist is a light in the darkness. When he tries to set fires, the darkness becomes a thing others will run toward and away from the fire.


September 10

I love this little prayer I found … in my Bible at the end of today's devotional. We always send around prayer requests. I thought I'd send around a prayer 'thank you'.

"Gracious God, how can I ever sufficiently thank You for bringing me to Yourself? The thought of a God who is alive, taking a personal interest in me, is more than I can comprehend. Yet I believe it. With all my heart, “Thank You, dear Father." Amen
Peggy Andrews, a praying friend

September 11

"Does God Laugh?” someone asked Rufus Mosely. "I don't rightly know," he remarked, "but He sure made me so I can."

To truly laugh, you must be able to take your pain, and play with it! Charlie Chaplin

If I were given the opportunity to present a gift to the next generation, it would be the ability for each individual to learn to laugh at himself. Charles Shultz

Submitted by Michael Constantine, Missionary Teacher

September 12

The only time you need a poker face is when you are hiding cards OR SOMETHING ELSE. Hopefully what you are hiding are words which may be injurious and not secret plans of destruction or damage to others.


September 13

Kindness is a state of being which is apparent without verbalizing or proving.

September 14

Generosity does not have to be legislated and when it is it ceases to be generosity and becomes obligation.

September 15

The person who decides to reject nothing wills the destruction of the human soul.

September 16

Being polite is most difficult when you have a strong opinion. Some may think being polite is dishonest. I see it as giving grace and showing charity to others.

September 17

At my house all plans and projects are organic. We start small and before you know it we have a beanstalk growing right up through the living room. Whew! The lesson we have learned from this it to start small. Things will develop soon enough. That is a good word for the living of the Christian life. Develop in the disciplines of the faith if you want to serve. Put ambition aside and just live the life. God make a way for you when you do the essential things and do not surrender to the greatness scheme motif of the world.

September 18

Context is important.

A College professor was riding through Tennessee and continually hissing in contempt for the brash Bible messages posted everywhere on billboards and crude road signs. It began to rain. In the haze of a downpour he was able to make out a sign up ahead. When he finally was able to read the sign it said, “The end is near.” Cursing those who had put up the sign he continued on and drove off a bridge into flooded waters. Two farmers appeared and looked down on the wrecked car. One said to the other, “Maybe we should have been more specific and made that sign to say ‘The Bridge is Out’.”

What do we think when we hear “the end is near?” In the great scheme of things it matters in any case. The end we face points to bridges that are out whether to Mayberry or eternity. It is wise to pay attention to all warnings of all disasters if for no other reason than exercise humility.

September 19

When the Holy Spirit enters our lives he begins to make us intensely curious, creative and vitalized. In fact, Christians impacted science, art and a host of other disciplines.
Most of the earliest hospitals in the free world were begun by believers. The earliest colleges in the United States like Princeton, Harvard, Emory and many others were started by Christians. Yet, it is a fact that Christians no longer get credit for their discoveries or labors. For example, George Washington Carver once said that God gave him his ideas. He was ridiculed and demeaned as a scientist even though he was one of the most productive scientists of his day producing many products that helped raise the life standards of people.
The truth is Christians are not here to get credit but to make a difference in this world through the love of Christ. However, if you are a believer do not allow others to demean your intelligence, creativity or efforts. You are a light in the world.

September 20

When is a Man Educated?

“When he can look out upon the universe, now lucid and lovely, now dark and terrible, with a sense of his own littleness in the great scheme of things, and yet have faith and courage. When he knows how to make friends and keep them, and above all, when he can keep friends with himself.

When he can be happy alone and high-minded around the drudgeries of life. When he can look into a wayside puddle and see something besides mud, and into the face of the most forlorn mortal and see something divine.

When he knows how to live, how to love, how to hope, how to pray – is glad to live…and has in his heart a bit of a song.” Joseph Fort Newton (Contributed by Dolores Hayward, friend)

***


September 21

A mature Christians learns how to navigate a stormy sea while keeping their minds and hearts anchored in port.

September 20

When we let our personal sense of insecurity to control us we will make everyone an enemy who does not think like us or we will take the attitude of superiority to others. Neither of these are a good alternative. We will fare best when we learn to accept with thanksgiving God’s favor on us and recognize that we are at our best and worst moments beneficiaries of Christ’s amazing grace. Our trust is always grounded in Him.

September 22

All quotes by Pastor Bill Ford in a message on the Sermon on the Mount and the Plain. Italics are mental affirmations or thoughts provoked in me by the message.

Mental Dialogue
“It is grace that saves alone but grace that saves is not alone. Grace will work out in works.”

If God does not give impute His righteousness to us through faith in Christ the struggle to do the right thing is not worth the effort. We will fail on the first effort to do exactly what He teaches. If, however, we trust in His grace for power to live we will find increasingly that the Sermon on the Mount will become reflexive response in us.

“There is a gap between what Jesus says here and what I see in my own life.”

Paul had it right when he said, 21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!

“The words of Jesus show us that our theological views, our political views and our presuppositions matter too much because our views and responses to them are often opposite what Jesus says.”

The Sermon on the Mount puts a mirror before us and allows us to see how far short we fall from the character of God. It should bring us to our knees in humility and gratitude. It is possible we are often inoculated to the truth by the truth but the words of Jesus reveal to us how radical His way is.

“We can take the things Jesus said to be merely cerebral. However, He does not give us a choice. He always says if you believe you will do.”

James says, “faith without works is dead.”


Agape’ love is the love that flows from truly “Being in Christ.”

If loving one’s enemies did not exist as a possibility we would not then be loved by God. It is God’s nature to love and He cannot do less.

When we submit to the words of Jesus we submit to the power that is working most powerfully and will have the last say.

Jesus has the last word and defined how the world will work in creation. To fight against such a way is the ultimate stupidity.


September 23

Love has only intuitive logic. Love is not always rational explained. However, we know love is good. We seek it for ourselves. We give it to others who even reject us because somehow we know love is good and worth seeking, giving and preserving. We know it is the most creative force in the human arsenal.

September 24

A dead fish can merely go with the stream, but only a living fish can go against it.

September 25

“What amazes me is that even God Himself is a plurality, Father Son and Holy Spirit. All through the Gospel of John, Jesus reflects on His work in concert with the Father. E.g. Jn3:34, 35. Marriage is man's closest experience of that kind of partnership, followed by the Church. I don't think we can really appreciate the Godhead until we experience the wonder of working in harmony.” Dan Juraschek, Bible Teacher

September 26

The most negative people are not often those who analyze things but those in denial of evil. The first sees the truth and even though he has not been committed may often act in greater faith and concern. The second professes faith but will not act in faith to confront the evil or even call it for what it is. Analysis may lead to the sin of commission or action. However, denial always leads to the sin of omission.

Matthew 7:24-27

24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”


September 27

Is there room for negative critique for the Christian who believes in the ultimate positive outcome of all things? You bet there is. Hope has no meaning apart from seeing the destructive trends in the human discourse. If there had been no need for anything but positivity there would have been no prophets and no preachers. But is must be in the context of redemption and the discernment of the Holy Spirit at work in the heart of the believer. The positive message of the evangelist depends upon a real assessment of the human condition. Positive thinking may be nothing but an inclination for denial.

September 28

The failure to live by the Sermon on the Mount does not come from not understanding it. It comes from our disunion with God. If we are to live the life of the Sermon on the Mount we must have established a union with God through receiving the Holy Spirit by faith and allowing Him to live his life out in us. Only then can we know the will of God and His wisdom.
***
The teaching of the Sermon on the Mount is not--Do your duty, but--Do what is not your duty. It is not your duty to go the second mile, to turn the other cheek, but Jesus says if we are His disciples we shall always do these things. There will be no spirit of--"Oh, well, I cannot do any more, I have been so misrepresented and misunderstood". . . Never look for right in the other man, but never cease to be right yourself. We are always looking for justice; the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount is--Never look for justice, but never cease to live it." Oswald Chambers (My Utmost for His Highest)

September 29

A pilgrim Christian takes this life as an adventure in development, learning and growth. A nominal Christian only learns, engages and understands what is an advantage to him personally.
***
"The spiritual life does not remove us from the world but leads us deeper into it." Henri J. M. Nouwen

September 30

"The people that do know their God shall be strong."
— Daniel 11:32

Every believer understands that to know God is the highest and best form of knowledge; and this spiritual knowledge is a source of strength to the Christian. It strengthens his faith. Believers are constantly spoken of in the Scriptures as being persons who are enlightened and taught of the Lord; they are said to "have an unction from the Holy One," and it is the Spirit's peculiar office to lead them into all truth, and all this for the increase and the fostering of their faith. Knowledge strengthens love, as well as faith. Knowledge opens the door, and then through that door we see our Savior. Or, to use another similitude, knowledge paints the portrait of Jesus, and when we see that portrait then we love Him, we cannot love a Christ whom we do not know, at least, in some degree. If we know but little of the excellence's of Jesus, what He has done for us, and what He is doing now, we cannot love Him much; but the more we know Him, the more we shall love Him. Knowledge also strengthens hope. How can we hope for a thing if we do not know of its existence? Hope may be the telescope, but till we receive instruction, our ignorance stands in the front of the glass, and we can see nothing whatever; knowledge removes the interposing object, and when we look through the bright optic glass we discern the glory to be revealed, and anticipate it with joyous confidence. Knowledge supplies us reasons for patience. How shall we have patience unless we know something of the sympathy of Christ, and understand the good which is to come out of the correction which our heavenly Father sends us? Nor is there one single grace of the Christian which, under God, will not be fostered and brought to perfection by holy knowledge. How important, then, is it that we should grow not only in grace, but in the "knowledge" of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Submitted from her reading and faith by Peggy Andrews, believer

October 1

We need to understand that when evil men are killed or evil issues are dealt with in human societies it only constitutes a lateral shift. It does not eradicate evil. That is reserved for another to rectify and his name is Jesus who alone sits upon the judgment seat. For example, the death of Hitler, Stalin or Osama Bin Laden solves nothing. It only shifted the evil to other people and other fronts. We wait always upon the judge of mankind to rectify what we cannot even understand. There is never any closure on evil in this world when man sets his hand to it. However, the paradox is this: we must always try “to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with our God,” nonetheless. (Hosea 6:8) That formula says it all and rightly understood leaves us at the feet of the true judge of mankind with bowed heads and hearts.

***

In this present darkness the Christian truly is a pilgrim and stranger from a different country altogether.

We incur all the prejudice of the foreigner in a strange land; after all, to them (general society) we are illegal aliens. Bob Batters, believer

October 2

To the angels most Christians must appear strange as they try to live out the pure life that the angels know by mere observation of heaven. I can imagine that to the angels we believers must look like dancing pigs in tutus. However, the angels know that we at least are wearing tutus which is comparable to being robed in the righteousness of Christ.

1 Peter 1:10-12
10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, 11 trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. 12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.

October 3

"Doubt is not always a sign that a man is wrong; it may be a sign that he is thinking." Oswald Chambers

October 4

Love is not easy. It cannot really be imitated. It has an appearance of softness but that is not the whole story. Loving another is seeking to influence others with their consent. It is not love’s way to dominate or to dictate any more than it is love to dote. Even a parent with children dependent upon them for their judgment seek to first give roots and then give their children wings. This is the nature of God’s love. He wants us to have roots so we can take wing and know true freedom which is available only when we have learned to live in His ways.

October 5

"The truly and deliberately evil men are a very small minority; it is the appeaser who unleashes them on mankind; it is the appeaser’s intellectual abdication that invites them to take over. When a culture’s dominant trend is geared to irrationality, the thugs win over the appeasers. When intellectual leaders fail to foster the best in the mixed, unformed, vacillating character of people at large, the thugs are sure to bring out the worst. When the ablest men turn into cowards, the average men turn into brutes." Ayn Rand as quoted by Richard Terrell

***

We may add: When the ablest men turn into cowards and the average man into brutes because the power of the law has failed the Lord will roar like a lion and redeem as a lamb.

Romans 5:20
“20 The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, 21 so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
I believe as a Christian that the darkest hours are the hours before a new dawn. Watch for the awakening of those who sleep and wait upon the glory of the Lord who reigns when there is despair.

October 6

Psalm 11
1 In the LORD I take refuge.
How then can you say to me:
“Flee like a bird to your mountain.
2 For look, the wicked bend their bows;
they set their arrows against the strings
to shoot from the shadows
at the upright in heart.
3 When the foundations are being destroyed,
what can the righteous do?”
4 The LORD is in his holy temple;
the LORD is on his heavenly throne.
He observes everyone on earth;
his eyes examine them.
5 The LORD examines the righteous,
but the wicked, those who love violence,
he hates with a passion.
6 On the wicked he will rain
fiery coals and burning sulfur;
a scorching wind will be their lot.
7 For the LORD is righteous,
he loves justice;
the upright will see his face.

The Psalmist makes some salient points regarding injustice, the rise of evil and the pervasion of wrong. He says:

1. “The Lord is my refuge”…for there is no mountain to flee to, no human strength upon which I can rely for ultimate solution.
2. Therefore, “what can the righteous do?”
3. Remember “The Lord is on his heavenly throne.”
A. “The Lord is righteous, He loves justice …”
B. “The upright (can recognize, always, that they “will see his face.”

Many martyrs of good have died not seeing the turning of things to the good. However, the reward of us all who put our trust in Him is seeing his face when He sets things right. Never despair, dear believer, because the end that is in sight is His face whose glory dispels all that darkness, in its veiling, shelters as the evil of this earth.

If this is cliché to some then consider what you are calling cliché. It is a truism. This is our faith and the sure word of God, our Creator, who designed the universe and who has the first and last word because He is the Alpha and Omega.

Our feelings have nothing to do with giving us a true picture of reality. They reflect our responses to what we perceive. What most perceive are socially conditioned. However, what the believer in Christ perceives is dependent upon the revelation of God to the human heart and the proven experiences of those who have gone before us.

October 7

The devil can speak the language of the righteous but neither his heart nor his actions are in it.

October 8

Was thinking a little about why we struggle with disappointment - here is what I came up with :

Dreams are wondrous things. They can help us imagine what is not yet, but if we are not careful, they can also blur our vision of what already is. The difference between a vision and an idol is how firmly it gets set in stone. Dan Juraschek


October 9


The Bible is my ultimate instructor. It informs, inspires and guides. It presents us the picture of the character and nature of God and in doing so introduces us to Him through the Holy Spirit. The Bible sketches out the hope that people have found through faith in God and is so deeply etched in the language and cultures of men that it will never be eradicated.

***

Of all the reading I have ever done biography is the best. Biblical biography is the most inspiring because it gives even negative examples. Biblical biography is the most real biography because it shows the heroic and the not so heroic. Therefore, it reveals the validity of paths we may take and has probably profoundly influenced more people for the good than any biographies ever written.

October 10

The historical institutional church has made gross mistakes. They are no better and no worse than the rest of society and that says a lot. It says that the institutional church is often a rationalistic organization which often barters for its survival as a power the way the world does. Compromise after compromise is the sure way to get off the path; that means the WAY. Jesus said the path is straight and narrow and if that doesn’t make you a tight rope walker needing balance I do not know what it does. It takes your head, heart and singular focus on Christ to have balance.

October 11

“Of all the slaves taken in West Africa 6% of them wound up in the United States. The vast majority of them were taken to the Caribbean or various Latin American countries.” Professor Jackson, History Channel

***

One of the greatest blots on human cultures of the world is that there is always some form of slavery in every society. If the people themselves do not become slaves to cultural power brokers then they will conquer peoples and make slaves of them.

Do not think slavery is dead. It exists all over the world. Those who have broken the power of domination have always transcended slavery in their minds and hearts. It is out of such conditions that the most inspiring and uplifting literature, music and political concepts like democracy have arisen. The greatest universal slavery breaker has been the gospel of Jesus Christ.

October 12

It is little known that the pictures Norman Rockwell painted were staged to convey their message. He often took many photos of individuals in his hometown and from other places dressed in costume. Then he designed his paintings and placed these individuals in appropriate places to form those warm and human scenes. This is something to remember when we insist on “Rockwell moments” in our lives.
Idealization is good for iconic static presentations. It does not work in life very well and when we try to force others into our frames of reference we will often lose the very effect we want to create.

People in pictures can be arranged. People in real life do not conform because they have the power of choice and individuality which is far more precious than images. Our lives are happier when we let our social and family events take their unique courses and learn to see and affirm the fresh things God is doing among us.

October 13

In difficult times the living church (not the ecclesiastical one) has reverted back to its roots in confession, intense prayer, and posture by holding standards clearly different from society: communal patterns of small and intimate fellowship; serious commitment and sharing; and deep personal piety. Isn’t it a sad commentary that these are not the patterns of the church at all times?

If we do not have such fellowship we should seek it. If we don’t have it we should build it with sincere Christians. If we cannot build it we must prepare to be lone witnesses in a very hostile world. However, I believe we are not alone and that there are Christians and non Christians all around us who want the community which Christ formed in his first disciples and church.


October 14


Patient and regular practice is the whole secret of spiritual realization. Do not be in a hurry in spiritual life. Do your utmost, and leave the rest to God. Anon

October 15


“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” (Luke 8:8)
Hearing is an act of humility. It is showing respect to the truth. It is showing respect to those who speak. It is tendering the heart to the possibility of learning something. It is not necessarily agreement with what you hear but it is the recognition that the very act of hearing will give one a path to the truth. One may reject the very thing being taught but that very rejection is the path to finding an insight into the purpose of God for the Christian. One might say there is something to be learned even from heresy because a kernel of truth is what fires heresy.

October 16

Nature of Unbelief

As believers, how do we cope with or even talk to those who have developed contempt for God or all things Christian? That is a question everyone likes to approach with rational arguments. However, unbelief, agnosticism, atheism or hostility to God is not necessarily cerebral. It is frequently a human reaction to bad life experiences, abuse or encounters with poor witnesses of the faith. Sometimes, contempt is the result of a moral breakdown or the formation of admired and ingratiating friendships with a group of unbelievers.

October 17

The Daunting Challenge

This question of why people can so fiercely have contempt for God has nagged me all of my life. As I look back over 57 years of Christian experience I can say I have seen many turn about from a real and palpable hostility against God. I have seen many, also, who have gone their own way and even to their graves resisting the wooing of the Holy Spirit. Perhaps there must be an element of mystery here, but we must believe that people can respond to God if somehow their obstacles can be faced and removed. The best the believer can do, when approaching hostile family or friend, is to stop thinking about selling a product. You must care for that person or leave them alone to someone who will love them as God loved you.

***

I have had numerous occasions in my life of meeting people who had a story to tell of divine encounters. One was a naval architect who suddenly began to come to church. He was a man for whom we had been praying because he had become seriously ill in another city. No one in our church had even visited him. We had only prayed for him.

One day, after he had visited our church several times, I went to see him. It was then he told me a story of hearing his family talking to a doctor in the hall and preparing for his death. It was then he began to think of what he had to do to leave things in good order for his family. The end result of all his thinking was a decision he must fulfill all promises which were on his “bucket” list. He made out his will. He invited a pastor in to baptize him because he had promised his mother he would be baptized. After her death he failed to act on his promise. He lived without any thought of church. The reason he gave was, “I did not believe. I consider myself a realist and lived quite well without church.”

Shortly after his baptism he was sent to a nursing home to die. One night he woke up and saw one of the practical nurses at the foot of his bed praying for him. Later, during sleep another night he woke up again. This time, lying in a dark room he heard a voice saying, “You have done a good thing. You are going to get better from this day on. Use your opportunity, well.” He did and lived several more years. Derrel Emmerson

October 18

Principles as Guidelines

At the risk of appearing to be another evangelistic expert I would like to share some insights into this topic. I have a sanctified dislike for handbooks and experts of the art of loving others. People are not objects. Sharing Christ is not technical. Neither are people predictable subjects to be manipulated for personal gratification because “we have won another one to Christ.” That idea, in fact is absurd.

When someone comes to Christ we are a witness and not a perpetuator. Being evangelistic is about being in the hands of Christ and allowing Him to sensitize us and act through us in love. It is simply about loving with the love Christ has infused into us. If that is too fuzzy for many, I am sorry. I am only quoting Jesus who admonished us to love. That is the only way to make disciples of Christ.


October 19

Think of encountering contempt like landing a plane. When one learns to land a plane there are certain rituals for each aircraft. However, those are only guidelines. Landing a plane is as much an art as it is a science. The art comes in when one confronts the variables like distractions, the wind, the airport terrain, mechanical conditions, weather, anomalies surrounding each landing site and your own personal mental focus. No handbook can teach you to land a plane. Every landing is different.

As spiritual aviators, we depend at all times on the Holy Spirit to communicate, aviate and navigate. When we think of approaching others to touch their hearts for positive change we need to remember we are as much passengers on this planet as everyone else. Howbeit, we, as Christians, can learn how to work with the Creator.
Just so, no one can tell us, except for the Holy Spirit, how to approach a person who has contempt for the gospel. The object is to love that person wholly. We have nothing to do with getting them to change their hearts. Contrary to much we hear and read we are not God’s salesmen. Salesmen think too much of how the act of selling affects them. God’s witnesses care about making the story clear. Once seen and understood God does his own “closing.”

October 20

Personal Preparation

I have seen many people transformed because a friend came to Christ. That friend simply brought their friends along for the life. However, we can never take it for granted that the raw enthusiasm of a new believer is anything but a beginning. We are not even half way in being followers of Christ unless we are disciples. Disciples are followers. Disciples learn from and practice what the teacher lives. When Jesus said he was the Way He was pointing to Himself as the long road from now down through eternity.

October 21

The disciple of Christ is steeped in the Teacher’s words. Being steeped in His words means taking on the influence of those words as water is steeped with the tea. A cursory selection of scriptural verses gets new believers in trouble. That approach to the Bible leads novices down a path of religious rigidity and presumption. The real disciple of Christ lives a life of breathing and meditating (muttering, memorizing, melodizing, mimicking, and submits to monitoring) on the scripture by incorporating it into their prayers and practice.

October 22

When we care for those for whom Christ died and who are drifting, we begin to pray for them. This involves asking God to help us visualize them as God sees them. As we pray for them we usually find ourselves developing tenderness toward them. We find ourselves losing our fears and developing a real interest in that person. This development is all important because to love others with the love of Christ we must understand them and care about them. When we do not, such companions will recognize at once our interest in them as a charade. We will to well, also, to always remember that it is the Holy Spirit who moves us in such concern. Therefore, we should not be unduly concerned that we are not moved to pray for or to relate to everyone who asks on behalf of another.

October 23

The Approach to Friendship Witnessing

Stage One and Only: Interest
Call it Love
“Question, question, question! “ This is the way we learn. The witness must be the learner first!
We learn about people by questions and to be effective we always recognize the levels of questions. The why question is the query of the deepest level and is most threatening. All questions cover who, what, when, how and why. It is what journalists do. However the witness’ questions must not be self-serving. The witness is interested in becoming aware of the person with whom they wish to share.
Be careful with the “why” question! This one is probative and usually is not answered honestly or comfortably until friendship is formed. Always show warmth and acceptance even of their obstinate sides and when friendship is really formed you may find a brief personal confession or confrontation will work better. Always be ready to ask forgiveness for any encroachments or evidences of pride.

October 24

The questions follow this pattern:
1. Question for Information. These are usually factual questions that give us some indication of origin and development. You should have genuine interest or others will know you are being gratuitous.
2. Question about their interests. This is a good time to take the posture of learning from another. Nothing makes a friend like learning from them and appreciating that which is approvable.
3. Question about the people in their lives. These questions will tell us where they are sensitive and caring. The people they are love are important in making them who they are and amenable to God’s love.
4. Question their likes and dislikes. In the course of this you may find an anti God or anti religious bias. Here is a good time to ask what caused this “bias.” Do not defend a position. Just ask questions or perhaps frame a question to them that may cause them to rethink their position.
5. Question their view of life, especially probing their thoughts on the after life. You may not like their answer but if you have gained some ground you may impart some view of life and God’s place in yours and even find they will receive it.
6. Question them at any time that seems friendly in your relationship if you can pray for them for anything specifically. I have seen people who are hostile to the gospel be healed through prayer and even tell me later of “supernatural” experiences they have had which convinced them of the prayer’s power.

October 25

At all times friendship involves the whole person approach. People who are friends give gifts to each other, do for each other, show up at the important events and invest energy in one another. When others reciprocate you have won a friend. However, no relationship has to be two ways outwardly.
We create friends by being a friend. Toleration may be all one gets in the beginning or ever. However, in the end, a friend is remembered by all of us if there is any scintilla of soul within us. Our goal is always to love the world as Christ loves us. The results are not our concern. We have only to say “yes” to God and give the best witness we can.


October 26


Comment from a Pastoral Friend

The one concern that I have encountered to the friendship approach to sharing our faith is the issue of telling the truth. This is tricky because many, who advocate truth, do so in a contentious way. I guess that is why Paul talks about "speaking the truth in love." (Eph 4:15) We must first establish a platform of love to make way for candor and truthfulness.

I don't score well on the personality inventories in "sales", but I score high in compassion. That's why pastoral ministry made sense. In that small Ephesians passage it mentions edification. That works much better with my personality

If I am operating in love, I am not drawn by closing the sale, or even by defending the truth since I believe the truth is its own defense. But I am drawn but the desire and opportunity for edification. Edification is building. Even though you have all the materials delivered to the jobsite, you really can't start building until you take inventory and have a sense of how the materials are to fit together.
Dan Juraschek

October 27

“When injury is done to us we never recover until we forgive.” Billy Saville, Bible teacher.

***

“In heaven where true reality exists we will be as dense as a new star, as bright as a supernova and as powerful as a solar wind.” Anon

October 28

“If you want a religion that only makes you happy I don’t particularly recommend Christianity.” C.S. Lewis

The best way to survive in a world of lies is to listen to everything to find something of which you can approve and never speak the truth in love. This of course will leave you a participant in the lies.

October 29

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Luke 6:31
“The golden rule is a supernatural rule because it takes an act and work of God in us to make this happen in us.” Bill Ford, Pastor
***
The power of God is not self-serving. It is available to us to help do for others what we cannot naturally do, speak what we cannot naturally speak and minister to those to whom we cannot naturally minister.

October 30

We may call the golden rule a rule. However, the Bible never calls it the golden rule. That is an invented term. We take the definition for granted but it is not what Jesus said. He told us to treat others as we would want them to treat us even when they are not doing so. This is a redemptive principle. By living it we can redeem other from destruction. We can change society. We our selves will first be change and that makes all the difference for us also because in order to live this way we will have received power from Christ, who lives in us, in order to do so.

October 31

The believer does not live for reward but reward comes to us when we live the life of Christ. What can be more of a reward than Christ working in us and the sharing of His nature?